Consulting with the Manoa Faculty Senate

The Charter of the Manoa Faculty Senate states that the
administration "... shall provide sufficient time for
thorough discussion of the matter in regular meetings of the
Senate."

This document provides practical guidelines. It is intended
for use by not only the Manoa administration, but also the
UH System administration when it consults the Manoa Faculty
Senate on matters which have potential impact on Manoa or on
the relationship of Manoa to the System.

Background: The timing of SEC, CAB, and BOR meetings

The primary conduit of communication with the Senate is the
Senate Chair and Senate Executive Committee (SEC). The SEC
meets weekly on Monday afternoons.

The full Senate meets monthly, on a Wednesday
afternoon. Usually, this regular monthly meeting will be
just before the monthly Thursday-Friday meetings of the
Board of Regents (BOR). This means that a Senate can pass a
resolution at its regular meeting to be presented to the
Board of Regents at their meeting a day or two later.

The Senate has several standing committees dealing with
particular areas of concern. The SEC will usually refer a
matter to the appropriate standing committee. The Standing
Committee on Administration and Budget (CAB), which is often the
appropriate committee to review administrative actions,
meets monthly, during the week preceding the regular monthly
Senate meeting.

I. Suggested procedure in case of proposals to be
put before the Board of Regents

Ideally, faculty will have been involved, formally or
informally, in the preparation of draft proposals (see item
III below). When the draft proposal is ready for official
consultation with the Senate, the administration should take
these steps:

1. Tell the Senate Chair about the matter about six weeks
before the targeted BOR meeting. (That safely puts two
Senate meetings between the initial notification and the BOR
meeting: that's the key rule.)

2. Offer to make an initial presentation about the matter at
the first Senate meeting.

3. Between the first and second Senate meetings, the
relevant Senate standing committee will consider the matter
and may propose a resolution for the Senate to vote on. The
standing committee may invite a representative of the
administration to attend the committee meeting.

4. At the second Senate meeting, the Senate may adopt an
official position, perhaps in the form of a resolution.

5. The Senate's resolution can then be presented to the BOR
in conjunction with the administration proposal.

Of course, this method is not appropriate for all
matters. It's helpful to think of it as a default mechanism
which is always in place and which has recognized
legitimacy. If you follow this, no one can fault you for
failing to consult with the faculty on matters which concern
them.

It may be possible to shorten this time to one Senate
meeting cycle if there has been sufficient faculty
involvement early-on in the preparation of the proposal. At
an absolute minimum, the SEC will need to be given the
material two weeks before a BOR meeting.

II. Procedure where no BOR action is
required

Proposals which do not involve the BOR should follow the
same general procedure. It is wisest to allow two Senate
meetings between the presentation to the SEC and the need to
finalize a decision. Even in the most straightforward and
least controversial cases, the SEC will need to be presented
with the proposed action two weeks before the Senate meeting
before the action is required.

III. Involving the Senate in policy--drafting
and informal advisory groups

The formal consultation process goes much more smoothly and
quickly if the Senate is kept informed of administration
plans, even as new proposals are being floated and policies
are being drafted. Working with the Senate in these early
stages ensures that proposed actions are not sprung on the
Senate as last-minute surprises. Early Senate involvement
also means that faculty will rely lesson unfounded rumor as
the means of discerning administration intents. And, it may
be possible to shorten the formal approval period from two
Senate meeting cycle to one cycle, if this is done.

The administration can facilitate early involvement by
inviting one or more representatives of the relevant Senate
standing committee as liaison to any working group preparing
policy drafts. The standing committee representative can
often foresee problems that could complicate and prolong the
formal consultation process.

It is essential that the administration understand that
inviting a standing committee representative to an informal
administration policy-drafting group is not a substitute for
formal Senate consultation.